RIVERSIDE – The Riverside City Council on Tuesday approved a
part of the Fox Plaza project, on the east side of Market from
Sixth Street halfway to Fifth Street.

The portion will feature a parking garage with 337 stalls and,
wrapped around the garage, 40 condominiums and 8,285 square feet of
retail space. The site now only holds a surface parking lot.

No buildings will need to be demolished for the project portion
approved, and the council did not approve the demolition of any
buildings by its vote.

The council also approved the environmental impact report for
the entire Fox Plaza project.

A preservation group, the Old Riverside Foundation, might sue
the city, contending the report is inadequate, President David
Leonard said after the vote.

City Manager Brad Hudson said during the meeting that the city
followed state law in carrying out the environmental review and
“would welcome the judicial oversight” that a suit would
trigger.

Major negative impacts expected from the full project include
more traffic downtown, more air pollution and the razing of
historic buildings. The council made a finding that the full
project’s benefits would outweigh the negative consequences.

Siavash Barmand, principal of developer MetroPacific Properties
LLC, said after the vote that he hopes to break ground within six
months on the portion that was approved Tuesday, and on a Hyatt
Place hotel the council previously approved for the corner of Fifth
and Market.

Under an agreement with the city Redevelopment Agency,
MetroPacific cannot start construction without a lender locked in.
Barmand said he has one lined up.

MetroPacific originally proposed Fox Plaza with as many as 532
residential units, as much as 76,000 square feet of restaurant and
retail space, and as many as 1,693 parking spaces in three
garages.

The whole project would occupy two partial blocks on the east
side of Market Street between Mission Inn Avenue and Fifth Street
and the square block bounded by Market, Sixth Street, Fairmount
Boulevard and Fifth Street.

The Planning Commission recommended in May that MetroPacific
scale back the building proposed for the block stretching from
Mission Inn Avenue to Sixth Street. That part of the project would
require demolition of the historic Stalder Building at Mission Inn
Avenue and Market Street.

Barmand agreed to revise the plans for that block, though he did
not agree to retain the Stalder Building.

Redesign Sought

Councilman Mike Gardner, whose ward includes downtown and who
made Tuesday’s motion to approve, suggested that MetroPacific
redesign the corner facing the Fox Theatre so that the theater
remains the dominant feature at that intersection.

He also suggested finding a way to preserve the Stalder Building
facade and incorporate it into the project.

Councilman Frank Schiavone echoed some comments from members of
the public when he called for better architecture in the
project.

“It is boxy, it is vertical, it is straight,” he said.

“We’re going to take all of that into consideration,” Barmand
said after the vote.

Back to Planners

Plans for the Stalder block and for the square block on the west
side of Market will have to go back to the Planning Commission for
review before coming to the council, Planning Director Ken
Gutierrez said.

Fox Plaza has pitted residents and business owners who believe
it would spark a more vibrant downtown scene against residents who
believe it would destroy too many historic buildings and would be
too massive for downtown Riverside.

About 100 people attended the afternoon meeting and 39 addressed
the council, with 21 opposed and 18 in favor of the project as
designed.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.